History Meets Hollywood

Berkeley Plantation opens a permanent Harriet exhibition.

Harriet Tubman’s slave quarters recreated at Berkeley Plantation.

Photo by Gary Smith / courtesy of Berkeley Plantation

Harriet, the Oscar-nominated biopic on slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman, was filmed entirely in Virginia. One of the sites, Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, now has a permanent exhibition that tells the story of Tubman’s escape from slavery and mission to free hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad.

In the fall of 2018, Harriet’s production team transformed Berkeley’s historic buildings, gardens, grounds, and river shore into the world of Harriet Tubman. Slave quarters were constructed and used for scenes throughout the movie; they were relocated to Berkeley’s historical area after filming wrapped. “Most areas can be seen while touring, and most of our guests recognize the locations from the film,” says Berkeley spokeswoman Tammy Radcliff. Tours are conducted daily. BerkeleyPlantation.com


This article originally appeared in our April 2020 issue.

Markus Schmidt
Markus Schmidt is a former associate editor of Virginia Living and Virginia politics reporter for Cardinal News. A native of Germany, he is now the Virginia politics reporter for the Virginia Mercury.
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